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One of the reasons why the north of Sweden is the perfect place to develop Europe's largest wind farm is that there's an area large enough to accommodate a thousand giant turbines. Unlike in other places where such a large number of turbines wouldn't have been possible, the north of Sweden has 500 square kilometers of nearly-uninhabited land to spare. "If I were to try the same thing in Germany, it would take me 20 years to get everyone's agreement," says head of project, Wolfgang Kropp.

Called the Markbygden wind farm, the project has been undertaken by a company called Svevind. By 2022, the company is aiming to have all 1,101 wind turbines erected in the area five times as big as Paris, dotted with houses and thick with the growth of pine trees. Finished and operational, the wind farm will be able to generate electricity of which two nuclear reactors are capable. The new wind farm will be an asset to the region's paper, metals, and forestry industry, which are required to lower their carbon footprints by the year 2020.

Just like every other large-scale renewable energy projects, this one is also met with some dissenting voices; local people who are concerned with their livelihood. Nevertheless, the wind farm is also expected to bring in a considerable source of income for nearby villagers.